In Moscow's Shadows 251: The Near Abroad Recedes: Armenia and Belarus
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Russia still talks about the “Near Abroad” as if the map never changed, but the region is changing anyway. After a quick touch on Zelensky's open letter to Putin and the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, I dive into the relative trajectories of Armenia, currently at the polls, and Belarus, emphatically not. Despite its continued use of this problematic, imperialist term the "Near Abroad," in different ways, Moscow’ is finding its influence fraying across the former Soviet space, and why the Kremlin is leaning harder on pressure, deniability, and narrative spin to compensate for a shrinking sphere of influence.
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- 0:00Aluminium Bearings And A Quick Reset
- 1:22Zelensky’s Letter And Europe’s Role
- 1:49SPIF Denial And Russia’s Economy
- 4:50What The Near Abroad Really Means
- 6:01A Travelogue Lens On Post USSR
- 8:36Armenia’s Pivot And Russia’s Levers
- 20:18Sponsor Message And Patron Support
- 21:04Belarus Beyond The Headlines
- 23:12War Rumours And Nuclear Signalling
- 27:13Lukashenko’s Agency And Red Lines
- 30:45Annexation Talk And Public Opinion
- 33:31Kremlin Political Warfare Gets Subtler
- 36:58US Belarus Backchannels And The Wrap